Tuesday, January 15, 2019

ONCE UPON A RIVER




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Once Upon A River, Diane Setterfield, Atria Books, 2018, 460 pp

Like countless other readers who loved The Thirteenth Tale, I impatiently awaited this new novel. I did not expect to be disappointed but I had somehow forgotten the precise effect Diane Setterfield has on a reader. She makes me feel I am drowning in story though I always stay afloat.
So much to love in this novel. The setting in and around an ancient inn on the river Thames in the mid 18th century. The way every character is as unique as the various people one meets in life. The mystery of a small girl child who appears at first to be dead by drowning but comes to life. 

Best of all, the story itself, a story made of stories, that twists and turns like the Thames, that ends with every loose end tied up and with everyone getting what they deserve and sometimes with what they wished for.

This is a short review for me but I don't want you to waste time reading my words. I want you to have time to read this wonderful novel. I was indeed bewitched.

16 comments:

  1. So glad you liked it so. I was bewitched as well.

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  2. I need to try this one; I recall liking The Thirteenth Tale.

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    1. I am quite sure you will like this one too!

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  3. I see both you and Carmen liked this book a lot. Isn't it a wonderful feeling to be able to lose yourself for a time in a book?

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  4. great review! I first need to read The Thirteenth Tale though, lol, it's been on my TBR for ever

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    1. Thanks Emma. The Thirteenth Tale is one of those books I wish I could read again as though I had never read it.

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  5. I'm reading this book now, so thank you for not including any spoilers! I'm really enjoying it so far.

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    1. Yes, that was why I kept my review so short. What else could I have said without giving away the wonders of the plot?

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  6. This sounds like a great read! I haven't read any of Diane Setterfield before.

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    1. She is a master of story telling.

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  7. This sounds like a really great book, I've heard such good things about Diane Setterfield's writing, I need to check her out for sure.

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    1. She has many fans, that is for sure.

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  8. Glad this novel did not disappoint! I like how the story twists like the Thames. I hope to get to it.

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